Lightning Strikes
by TheseStarsBurnCold
Summary: Gothi had said at Hiccup's birth that he was touched by the Gods with a powerful spirit and a second, unknown name. Stoick couldn't help but agree, with the odd things that happen around his son all the time. Toothless knows the truth and Hiccup tries to find out what's going on.(disclaimer, I claim ownership of nothing)(One-shot AU)(may be part of a series later)
1. Chapter 1

Hiccup had told Astrid a few years ago that he was going to honestly and truthfully take a look at where they stood as far as a relationship went. He had explained that he didn't want to go on, after the two months they had already been dating, and find out he didn't like her when it was already too late. She, to his complete surprise, went with it saying that she'd give him as long as he needed and that she'd take whatever answer he was willing to give her knowing it would be a truthful one. He almost hated himself then, but she had added on that if he was going to guilt himself into being with her than she'd leave him herself to save him from that fate. It wasn't her. It was more his fault than anything. Maybe it was the fact that he was going to be turning fifteen sooner or later and she knew what kind of dilemma he'd be in, being the chief's son. Fifteen which, around Berk, was the time where people started to find that person they wanted to get engaged with the following year before they marry however many years or months later.

He thought he liked Astrid enough for that, but she was honestly more of an older sister to him than anything else! It was frustrating, because his dragon, Toothless, knew exactly what was going on, though the way things were done were different with dragons. Thankfully Hiccup has learned to speak dragonese, as he had done with birds as a little kid, and other wild animals. He'd never told anyone this of course. Simply because they'd probably think he was weird for wanting to learn in the first place.

Hiccup had given Astrid his answer, explaining his thoughts on her as more of a sibling. He'd expected her to hit him with her axe. To be angry with him. It had been two weeks after his initial question and Astrid was known for her moments of impatience and flashes of temper. She didn't do any of those things. Instead she hugged him for a few moments then dragged him over to his father so he could tell him the revelation he had, before Astrid left to inform their friends so he didn't have to. Considering that one of them happened to be his cousin, he didn't mind at all.

He'd also learned more about dragon culture, since he felt more comfortable, more at home with them and other wild creatures than with his own kind. Toothless had said it had something to do with him being different, more in tune with nature and other confusing stuff like that. He'd said that around this point in time most of the historical texts of the Age of Luxury (where land could be the only thing you'd see for miles instead of hundreds if not thousands of islands, food was just a hop, skip and a step away and water was clean instead of harmful to drink) were either burned, lost to the sea, or hidden in places many could not reach. Toothless had told him of how dragons actually came about, not by magic, but science. Experiments to make a once long thought mythical race come to life. Apparently, Toothless had been one of the first besides the Red Death.

Hiccup couldn't get what Toothless had said out of his mind. This having him spend more time alone or talking with Toothless or the other dragons to see what they knew on the subject. Astrid had grown worried for him, seeing as he was barely seen around the village without at least two other dragons besides Toothless attached to him like glue. Heck, he'd even had an entire conversation with Stormfly that he wouldn't tell her about.

Speaking of Astrid, she had just arrived a minute earlier, and moved to stand beside him.

"So...what are you not telling me, Hiccup? Is something bothering you? Other than the fact that you're turning fifteen I mean." The blonde asked, honestly concerned.

"Yes, Astrid. Something is bothering me." Hiccup was debating right now whether or not to tell Astrid, or his father for that matter, what was going on. Dragons being created by humans at the end of the Age of Luxury. The world having been broken up into thousands of islands that had been inhospitable, the humans fishing or hunting the few islands large enough to hold wildlife. Before the fire-breathing dragons fertilized what land there was left with the ash left over from their fire. And that Toothless remembered it all. Toothless had been there.

"I'm willing to listen if you want to tell me."

Hiccup glanced over at his, now, honorary sister, reaching up with his left hand to rub the back of his neck. A nervous habit of his ever since he was little.

"That's the thing. I don't know how to tell you, or anyone, what's bothering me. I don't even know all the details myself! All I know is that the dragons know more about it than they're letting me know and I...I'm wondering if they're keeping it from me to protect me somehow." At the end of this he wrapped his arms around himself as if that would make him feel any better. Astrid hummed.

"Has Toothless told you anything?"

Hiccup let out a small sigh. "Yeah, some. But it left me with more questions than answers to be honest."

"Did you speak to your dad about any of this?"

"He wouldn't know the first thing as to how to deal with this. Probably would try to make Toothless or some other dragon tell me everything when they clearly are not up for it yet."

"Right...good point. What about Fishlegs?"

"Already tried. He did his best searching through just about every dragon and non-dragon book he had and yet could barely find anything.."

Astrid frowned. She could tell this was beginning to upset him more than it did to frustrate or annoy him. So she tried to do him a favor by changing the topic.

"So, did you find anyone yet?" Hiccup blinked in slightly confusion and surprise before his brain caught up to him and provided the information to let him know what she was talking about.

"Nope. Why?" Astrid shrugged.

"Just wanted to know so I could talk to them."

"Astrid." Hiccup whined.

"Hey. I'm your big sister now, I feel obligated to be overprotective. Yes this means from your cousin to." The dragon rider could only raise an eyebrow at this.

"What did Snotlout do this time?"

"Oh not much. Just talked about you behind your back in a way I'm sure none of our other friends liked. Even Ruff and Tuff, and we both know how they are." Hiccup had to smile at that.

"What'd you do to him then?" He didn't like the thought of his cousin being seriously injured, but he did feel that Snotlout deserved what he got, and that he was probably the only one with enough patience to handle the older viking. He felt responsible for Snotlout, if only so that he didn't get himself, or the tribe by consequence, into trouble.

"Just hit him over the head a little with my axe and told him that he should say all that to your face and see what you thought. He shot back that you'd sick Toothless on him if he did that." Hiccup made a face.

"I wouldn't do that." There was a few moments of silence between the two. "Okay Toothless would probably do it himself." They both laughed a little at the image.

"Come on, it's getting late and your father wanted to speak to you about something before your evening meal." Astrid sighed before grabbing her brother's arm and began dragging him up the docks and through the village to the Great Hall.

"Hey. Hey! Watch the hand I already lost a foot! Ow! Astrid...!"

Toothless was troubled. The other dragons were trying to help him, trying to get him to see the good that could, no, that would come out of this. He couldn't see it. Not fully. Okay, he could see the good that would come with this, but it was overshadowed by every single scenario running through his mind. Good, bad, and the utterly devastating.

"It'll be fine, Toothless. King Hiccup will get through this. It's not like he will die. This has no chance for death you know this." Hookfang sat himself on the ground in front of Hiccup's house, looking up to where the Night Fury had perched himself on top of the roof as he waited for his human. The Fury made no motion to have heard the larger dragon other than replying in a calm, controlled tone.

"Yes I know that, Hookfang. But you know what happened the last time someone went through this. I don't want Hiccup to go through that." Hookfang felt whatever tension within his bones leave him as he confirmed to himself that the other dragon would not lash out at him. At least not yet.

"He was like your own, wasn't he? King Hiccup reminds you of him, doesn't he?" Toothless knew that Hookfang hadn't been there, but instead had heard stories of this other human being who had gone through what Hiccup was going through now. He didn't know the whole story, but he could guess as to why Toothless was acting like this. The Night Fury wasn't sure how the other dragon had been able to guess something like that.

"Yes." The black dragon warbled, his tail swishing from one side to the other before settling on curling in front of him. "Yes he was. But he died, Hookfang. He's gone so there's no use in talking about this any longer. Hiccup is different from him to. Enough so that he...he doesn't look like a ghost come back to haunt me."

The Monstrous Nightmare shook his head once. "You know you're going to have to tell King Hiccup what's going on soon. He'll find out eventually and if the answers do not come from you..."

Toothless snorted. "I know, Hookfang. And why do you and the other dragons insist on calling him king? You know he doesn't like that."

"He defeated the Queen. He led us all from war into peace. He had been kind to all of us. He is king, even if he may not think of himself as such and we will continue to call him by his proper title. Even if it is behind his back since he will not allow for formalities to his face."

The only response the large dragon got was a grunt. Hookfang took that as his cue to leave the Night Fury in peace. Toothless knew that he needed it, if he was to prepare himself to tell Hiccup about what was to come.

At the Great Hall, everyone and their mother were sitting around at tables, drinks in hand and plates full of food. Astrid and Hiccup's arrival signaled not silence, but a different round and boasting, chatter, gossip and conversation that left the poor fifteen year old's head spinning. When the two finally arrived at their designated table accompanied by Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, and Snotlout, Hiccup could practically hear the tension between them all. Had something happened?

"So.." He began, piling his own plate with less meat and more berries and the like, seeing as how he tended to like them more than the meat which tough and tasteless. It was a quirk he had, not that anyone ever cared about it. "What happened to make the tension here so thick you could cut it with an axe?" Hiccup asked out of sheer curiosity.

"How did you tame a Night Fury anyway? You're skinny, you can barely lift a sword, and up until then you couldn't do anything right." Snotlout commented, taking a bite out of a piece of lamb."

"Snotlout!" Astrid growled. The twins, surprisingly kept their mouths shut, though they were glaring at their friend. Fishlegs simply shook his head, wondering how Snotlout had the guts to ask that when Astrid was right there.

"No. No, it's okay." Hiccup attempted at calming Astrid down, though it didn't do much. "I may not be strong physically, Snotlout, but Toothless had told me more than enough times that I have the creativity and the inventive spark to overcome my weaknesses." Snotlout snorted.

"Bet you can't build your way out of a situation where you and Toothless are separated."

"Snotlout!" Fishlegs and Astrid both called out, shocked.

"Aw man, that was just cold." Tuffnut commented.

Hiccup frowned, eyes narrowing at the mention of the past, no matter how unintended. He had gotten out of that situation with the Outcasts, and had gotten Toothless back. He said as much, looking quite put out and choosing to simply not eat in the Hall. His father could tell him what he needed to say later. Hiccup was going back to the house to eat. Maybe Toothless would help him and eat the meat?

"Hiccup? Where are you going? Your dad still needs to talk to you." Astrid called out as he was leaving the Great Hall, her expression filled with concern.

"Tell him I've gone home to eat, 'trid." It was only a moment later when Astrid rounded on Snotlout, her eyes glaring daggers.

"See what you've done now, Snotlout?! You know as well as I do that he doesn't like to be reminded of that!" She growled, getting up and storming out of the Great Hall as well, leaving an almost untouched plate of food and drink behind. Astrid was going to go ask Stormfly to go flying. She needed to blow off some steam.

Stoick the Vast hissed out a curse as he entered his home after dinner in the Great Hall. Honestly, sometimes he wondered why Hiccup ever put up with his cousin. Snotlout didn't like him, even though somehow they were friends. Or, perhaps, frenemies when you took a closer look at their attitudes and actions towards each other. Though Snotlout looked up to Hiccup in a few ways, he didn't hesitate to claim being better, or put Hiccup down. That, and they had a pretty huge rivalry. One that he thought only Loki could ever benefit from.

Now, its seems that Snotlout was at it again, bringing Hiccup down and this time Hiccup couldn't just shrug it off like he usually would. Whatever it had been about had upset his son greatly if he just left the Great Hall like that.

The chief sat down in one of the chairs at the table, sighing. What he was going to tell his son could wait. Stoick would have gone up the stairs by now to see his son, but the Night Fury guarding the base of the stairs saw to it that no one disturb his rider. The only way that the viking knew his son was up there in his room were the thuds and clunks which came from the walls. Stoik guessed that Hiccup was throwing knives again, something he picked up from his mother, along with the use of a bow and arrow. Not very viking-like, but it was something and Stoick wasn't about to make Hiccup give it up as it was his way to defend himself.

Thunk. Another knife thrown. Klunk. Another that probably hit next to the first. Why Hiccup never showed his skill, even if it was in ranged combat rather than going in there swinging axes and taking names, the chief could only guess. Perhaps it had something to do with Valka, Hiccup's mother. The woman had always loved to travel, seeing new things, fighting with new styles. The knives and bow and arrows were one of the many things she brought back with her. Before she was taken by a dragon in a raid.

He looked up after awhile, immediately assuming he must've nodded off. The Night Fury was no longer guarding the stairs, and so he could only guess it was safe now to go up and check on his son, before he decided what to do with the situation he now found himself. One regarding Hiccup's mother, his wife, and a person they both had thought only missing for a very, very long time. His son had always been a mother's child. Always tried to do what he could to help her when cooking, or learn whatever else she thought to teach him.

Stoick sighed heavily, raising himself from his seat, holding a wooden box in one of his hands. The box contained letters, a journal, and several other books of a language he could not decipher. They were the last things of Valka, and he'd be condemned if he did not give this to Hiccup, who had positively broke when he'd heard that his mother was officially declared missing and presumed dead.

After a moment of thought, he set the box down on a shelf, before letting himself climb the stairs. Should his son still be awake, he did not want him questioning about the box and finding out so soon after being upset. Hiccup being upset caused, well, odd things to happen. All the time, even before Toothless. Though now they seemed to be more frequent with the Night Fury around.

Odd things, Stoick mused, like winds blowing harder outside. Or thin, barely noticeable trails of smoke, or maybe steam, rising from his nostrils when he's mad. Leaves change colors when he was near them and most of the year on Berk had slowly been changing to more pleasant weather since Hiccup had been born. It was still horribly cold and snowed and hailed instead of rained. Their summers were still only about two months out of the year. But most days were sunny. Most days became bearable. But the weather was susceptible to Hiccup's moods. When he was sad there'd be storms. When he was angry, winds would rip through Berk, often tearing up entire houses whole. Animals listened to him, for the most part, when he told them to do something.

Odd things that the other vikings had quickly taken note of. It was added onto Hiccup's not-vikingness and his penchant for trouble. None in the tribe, save Gothi, had wanted to be around him for long, and so had needed to be bribed more often than not to go on hunts for the dragons nest. Back when they still killed dragons. Now, Hiccup's status had improved. On the outside it appeared as if his being a social pariah had done a complete turn around.

It seemed only a few, including himself, knew that wasn't exactly the case. Hiccup had invisible scars that showed through in ways such as his hesitance in accepting such praise. Other vikings who may have opened up to dragons, hadn't quite done the same for Hiccup himself. The boy still did strange things but Stoick knew he couldn't just turn it off whenever he wanted. The boy hardly knew he was doing it in the first place.

Gothi had communicated to him once, at Hiccup's birth, that he was born with a powerful spirit and an old soul. He had, from what the chief could understand, been touched by the Gods and marked with a second name unknown to mortals. A name, she had warned him, that if learned could spell disaster. Anyone who knew it could use it to control Hiccup. And to control Hiccup meant control of the strange things that he does.


	2. Author's Note

The sequel, On a Snowy Mountaintop, is up.


End file.
